The present invention relates to an improved, nonwoven fabric having superior cloth-like characteristics including superior tear resistance and liquid absorbency.
Nonwoven materials are well known and have found wide spread use in an eclectic variety of applications from molded interior automobile parts to hospital bandages. The application for which a nonwoven material will be used determines the desired characteristics of the material Nonwoven materials used for disposable products such as industrial and/or home-use wipes, hospital towels, surgical gowns, wound dressings and the like should have the following characteristics: (1) minimal linting, (2) maximum liquid absorbency, (3) flexibility, (4) tear resistance or tensile strength, (5) resistance to the separation of any laminated layers, and (6) softness or cloth-like aesthetic properties.
Because disposable products are a significant commercial application of nonwoven materials, substantial effort has been expended in the prior art to develop nonwoven products with the above-enumerated characteristics (referred to hereinafter as "cloth-like characteristics"). Examples of prior art, disposable nonwoven materials having some of these cloth-like characteristics can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,892, to Storey et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,566, to Braun; U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,060, to Yoshida et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,066, to Newman. An example of a prior art method of making a nonwoven product may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,113 to Hermasson et al.